Phobophobia
by simplysubtle
Summary: When Finley Kennett quite literally stumbles into Halloween Town, she wants nothing more than to return home - and when she's miraculously given the chance, she takes it without a second thought. Her decision proves to be horribly wrong as Halloween Town is thrown into a mix of danger and deceit, and it's up to only a legless teenager to fix things before time runs out.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, now try wiggling your toes and bending your leg."

The physical therapist's sickly-sweet voice echoed in the near silent gym as Finley settled back on her yoga mat, pulling up her prosthetic leg and hearing the click of the limb's material as her 'toes' scraped against each other, doing more of a jerky back-and-forth motion than wiggling. The physical therapist - Samantha, her name was - hummed and hawed at the failed movement.

"Well, I mean, it wasn't so bad... at least you can move your toes..." Sam trailed off, picking up a clipboard and scribbling something onto it as Finley sighed._ Ah, yes, _she thought bitterly, grunting as she sat up. _Yes, you're able to jerk your foot around like a spastic ferret. Such an improvement. _She scowled.

After an eternity of writing, Sam looked up from her clipboard and took a pair of crutches that had been placed against the gym's wall, handing them off to Finley as the teen struggled to stand. "I'm not seeing very much improvement today, Finley," Sam admitted. "You really need to try and walk without your crutches, try and act like the prosthetic's a normal limb. I know it doesn't feel very natural, because that's just it - it's not natural, and it will never be. But try and treat it like a limb rather than a plank of wood, eh, Finley?" Sam gave her a small smile. "I know it's hard to deal with, but let's face it - it's either this or a wheelchair, and I know you don't want that. Anyway, the session's been over for ten minutes now, so let's go sign you out." Sam turned and began to walk towards the doors of the gym, her sneakers squeaking on the wooden floor.

Finley leaned into her crutches, feeling rather miserable as she began to swing herself forward, trying desperately to walk with her fake leg and failing. The limb merely jerked forward as she tried to move, causing her journey to the front desk of the gym to be a very long-winded one. When she finally got there, Sam was holding the door open for her, smiling and wishing her a happy Halloween as Finley limped towards the parking lot, looking around for her mother's car.

Her eyes shifted left, then right, then left once more.

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me._

Finley sighed loudly as she scanned the parking lot a fourth time, still not seeing her mother's car anywhere. She herself was more than twenty minutes late out of the gym, but yet, there was still no sign of her mother. Feeling a slight buzz in her pocket, Finley hurried to lean against a wall for support, before pulling out her phone and seeing a new message flashing on the screen.

"Can't come... overtime at work... walk yourself home - oh, for god's sake!" Finley shouted, huffing angrily. "I can barely walk on my own without falling flat on my face and she wants me to walk home?" The teen raged, her outburst earning her a few strange glances from others in the parking lot. Infuriated, Finley tapped in multiple different numbers on her phone, earning a total of zero answers as she tried desperately to pick up a ride. _Looks like I'm __walking... _Glancing meaningfully at the gym door beside her, Finley had a quick flash of hope before dispelling it completely. _Maybe Sam could drive me...? No, she's working. Too busy. _

Shifting forward on her crutches, Finley began to swing towards the sidewalk, silently thanking whatever deity was up in the sky that her home wasn't too far from the gym. The small plaza that the gym was placed in was right next to the town's high school, which was conveniently placed near about six different neighborhoods, the closest being Finley's. While it was still slow-paced, the distance between the gym and the neighborhood wasn't too awful for Finley. In fact, as the teen swung herself past the school, she felt the tiniest bit of excitement flare up in her chest as she remembered Sam's well-wishes as she had left. It was Halloween, after all, and while Finley considered herself too old - and at the moment, too unstable - to trick or treat, she could still dress up and watch horror movies on her couch. A small spark of happiness bubbled in her gut, and Finley found herself swinging along at a nice stride in the cool autumn air.

That was, until a hand gripped her crutch.

Coming to an abrupt stop at the woods near the edge of the school, Finley nearly toppled over, clutching her remaining crutch as she looked to see who had grabbed the other. Her heart sank and her face hardened at the sight of Mason Spaulding and his friends, a small trio of boys that had relentlessly bullied Finley since grade school for seemingly no reason - at least, until she had lost her leg. Mason smiled deviously, looking over the crutch as he slid a hand over the cool metal. "Wow, Finley," The teen said, in mock surprise. "I didn't know you still had to use _crutches! _What, are you too retarded to learn how to walk on your own?" Finley angrily gritted her teeth and allowed her hand to shoot out, her fingers grazing the metal before Mason ripped the crutch away. "Nope!" He said in a singsong voice, earning laughter from his friends. "You can't get these _back -_" Mason grinned, gripping Finley's other crutch and tearing it away from her, the forceful movement causing her to fall flat on her backside. "-until you show me that you can walk on your own!"

Feeling hot tears sting the corners of her eyes, Finley bent one knee in front of herself, then the other, and wobbled as she stood, taking a very unbalanced step forward in determination. She attempted to place her prosthetic forward, but was unbearably unsteady. She felt her legs buckle beneath her as she fell to her knees, swearing loudly as Mason and his crew burst into laughter. "Give me back my crutches," Finley snapped, feeling angry tears begin to trail down her cheeks as she furiously wiped at her face.

Mason bent down to tilt her head up with a devilish grin. "No." He laughed, before looping his arms through the crutches and beginning to walk off.

Humiliated and enraged, Finley shook as she reached out and grabbed Mason's ankle in a harsh grip, yanking herself forward and sinking her teeth into his leg. Shouting in pain, Mason swung the crutches down at Finley's face, the light metal catching the side of her head and her cheek. The teen could practically hear her teeth rattle in her skull as it hit, causing her to immediately let go of Mason's leg. Reaching upwards, Finley managed to yank a single crutch away from the boy, before aiming it straight at his crotch and shoving it towards him.

Mason howled.

"You little _bitch!" _He shouted, swinging the crutch at her and catching her side as Finley struggled to her feet and began to limp into the woods as fast as she could, bending her fake leg and darting forward, weaving through the trees and shrubbery, tears blurring her vision. In a moment of slight hysteria, Finley thought of the Benny Hill theme as she wound through the forest, switching between different flattened, leafy pathways every few minutes. As the dying greenery became more dense and the sounds of Mason and his gang faded in the air, Finley found a tree stump and allowed herself to rest and calm down before heading back to the street.

_Except... _Finley thought as her heart sank once again, her eyes adjusting to the woods' light. _I don't know where 'back' is._

* * *

><p>It had been nothing short of<em> hours.<em>

Finley had rested for only a moment, then took off into the woods once again with her single crutch, limping along in one direction before finding a small creek and realizing, with a loud curse, that she hadn't seen a creek when she was running from Mason and his crew. Just finding that creek had taken an hour, and trying other directions had taken more time than the teen would've liked to admit. By the time Finley stopped once again, cold, hungry, and with her face sore from where Mason had hit her, the outside light had already begin to fade.

Settling down on a fallen tree limb, Finley reached into her back pocket for her phone, before realizing that the tiny device wasn't in any of her pockets. _Well, there goes my flashlight. Must've dropped it earlier... _the girl sighed, thinking wistfully of the tiny, bright light built into her phone. _Although... _Finley thought, glancing at the moonlight filtering through breaks in the trees. _I might not need it. The shrubbery's cleared out a bit here... maybe I'm close to a neighborhood? _

Stumbling to her feet, Finley limped around for a while, before coming to a small clearing where the trees were spread out into a circle. "Whoa..." She breathed, staring open-mouthed at the clearing. "I hope I didn't stumble into some freaky occult gathering spot..." She mumbled, limping into the small clearing and glancing around at the trees.

Each one had a different symbol carved into it and painted, though they weren't truly symbols, they were more of... pictures. One held a four-leaf-clover, another a heart with an arrow through it, and one with a... Christmas tree? "Oh yeah, this is definitely some weird occult crap," Finley muttered, shuddering. The one symbol that caught her eye was a pumpkin - or rather, it was more of a jack-o-lantern. _Fitting, especially tonight_. Cautiously stepping closer, Finley noticed a worn, golden handle on the side of the pumpkin, and felt a strange urge to open it. While her mind was screaming not to touch it, her body ignored it - her hand reached out on its own, pulling open the door and looking down into a dark, deep, hollow tree. "That's weird as hell," Finley said loudly, her voice echoing in the clearing. Shrugging, the girl picked up her crutch and began to walk away...

Until a harsh wind sucked her back, slamming her back into the tree and tipping her into its depths.

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><p><strong> Well, you've just met Finley Kennett. How do you like her? Is she interesting? Unbearable? Annoying? A right Mary-Sue? (I'm praying that the latter is <em>not<em> the case...)**

**I've been wanting to write a TNBC fanfic for the longest time, and I figured that now was the time to do it - I don't really have a reason why, honestly, other than "I felt like it." I'm also experimenting with writing characters with actual, physical hindrances, since I haven't really written much on them before. **

**SIDENOTE: Those of you who are here and wondering why in the hell I'm posting something other than a Kuroshitsuji fanfic, it's because I have absolutely lost all inspiration in that series for right now and I'm having a serious bout of writer's block with it. I'm hoping that while I write this fic, I'll gain the inspiration to write more of Cirque - but for now I'm leaving it alone. Not forever, mind you, but for a bit.**

**Anyway! Onto the disclaimer! I don't own the wonderful, fantastic, magnificent movie that is The Nightmare Before Christmas. The only things I own in this story are the characters that I create, such as Finley, and if any characters bear any likeness to any real-life persons, then that's a mere coincidence.**

**See you in Chapter 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Wham._

Finley moaned as she slammed into the ground, her head bouncing against something hard in her path as she fell. Her eyes blurred as stabbing pains streaked through the back of her head, and she blinked in the light of the moon to try and rid herself of an oncoming headache. "_Damn..._" She muttered, reaching for the back of her head and resting it in her hands, feeling a slight wetness coat her skin as her dark auburn hair stuck to her fingers.

Disoriented, Finley tried to sit up, not expecting to be on the business end of a hill. Her torso tilted forward and she screamed as she began to tumble, feeling stones scrape her arms and leaves stick to her skin as she rolled. Coming to a harsh stop when her body plowed into a large rock, Finley wheezed as all the air was knocked out of her, breathing heavily for what felt like an eternity. Finally, the teen raised her head, groaning as she turned to see what she had run into.

Finley promptly fainted as she realized she had crashed directly into a gravestone.

* * *

><p>"...Really <em>must<em> get up, you can't just go around laying on any grave you like, it's common courtesy..."

A single voice faded in and out of Finley's line of hearing, its speech muffled and quiet. The teen had to strain her ringing ears just to hear choppy sections of what the voice was saying. The dark world around her was hazy, and Finley was faintly aware of a hard, cold surface beneath her as she cracked open her eyes and squinted at the moon, its light blurred and uninviting.

"Ngh..." Finley groaned quietly, the pain of her various gashes and bruises crashing into her with full force as she slowly came around. Her head felt heavy and as if it were about to burst, while her other limbs acted as if they were stuck in a river of mud. Slowly raising a hand to her face, the girl rubbed at her eyes and blinked, looking around for the owner of the voice as her vision cleared...

...Before screaming at the top of her lungs and launching herself in the opposite direction.

"Holy _shit!" _Finley shrieked, slapping her hands over her eyes and scooting backwards until she hit something - presumably a fence, by the feel of it. A man - if you could even call him that - curiously stared back at her as she hyperventilated, the teen feeling as if she was seconds away from a heart attack. The 'man' was tall, lanky, dressed in a pinstripe suit - and, oh, just your regular old _skeleton. _Finley's heart pounded as she dropped a hand and searched the ground for her crutch, only finding rocks. Grabbing a rather heavy stone, Finley held it up in defense, her eyes wild as she stared at the skeleton. "Don't come _any closer!_" She screeched, shrinking back against the wall and gripping the stone so tightly she was surprised it didn't turn to dust.

"Why, hello!" The skeleton said kindly, - _kindly? -_ as Finley tensed up, frozen in fear. "Judging by your reaction, this is your first waking moment in Halloween Town, hm?" _Halloween Town? Oh, Christ, that clearing really was an occult gathering spot. I must be drugged. _Nodding shakily, the teen felt near to tears as hysteria set in. _That thing can talk. It can actually talk. Oh, I'm about to die. Tell my mom I love her. _

"So!" The skeleton clapped his bony hands together, grinning down at the girl. "My name is Jack. Jack Skellington. Pumpkin King of Halloween Town." He sank into a small, gracious bow, before giving the newcomer an inquisitive look. "What might your name be?"

"F-Finley," the girl squeaked, mentally cursing herself for not running away. _It's not like you could, anyway, _a small, snide voice in the back of her head reminded her.

"Finley! A grand name, for sure. Lovely, might I add. So, what are you?" The question caught Finley off guard.

"I - I'm sorry?"

"What are you?" The skeleton repeated slowly. "Zombie? Doll? Demon? You're quite peculiar. I can't place what you are."

"U-um..." Finley stuttered, unsure how to answer. "I'd... t-think it would be easy. I'm a human? You know? Beating heart and all that?"

To her chagrin, Jack gave a hearty laugh. "Well, now you're leading me to think you're a clown!" For a fleeting moment Finley considered tossing the rock straight into the skeleton's eye socket, before dispelling the idea, not quite wanting to piss off someone so freaky.

"I'm not that, either. Just human." Finley gritted her teeth, growing irritated. _Just goes to show, anyone or anything can be annoying given the chance, _she thought. _Oh, crap, that was actually kind of philosophical. Write that one in your fancy dialogues, Plato. _

_"Oh!" _Jack exclaimed in surprise. "I see now - you're newly deceased! Sometimes humans who die come straight to Halloween Town for their afterlife - we haven't gotten an actual, legitimate dead human for a while now, though..." he pondered.

"D-dead?" The word caught in Finley's throat as her voice cracked. "I - seriously, I'm alive. I'm human, this is a big mistake."

Jack gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid you really are dead, Finley. It's a bit hard to accept, but give it time. You'll grow used to it." A small, understanding smile grew on his face as he held out a skeletal hand for her to take.

Ignoring the gesture Finley stared up at the skeleton, confused and still quite frightened. "But... if I'm dead, what do I do now?"

"Well, now we need to make you an official citizen of the town, find you a place to stay - for now you could probably stay with another one of our citizens, considering that you don't look like you're of age to stay on your own-" The skeleton rambled, listing off multiple different things as Finley huffed quietly through her fear. _Even in death there's still age limits. I've been cheated._

"So what say you? Shall we get going, then?" Jack's voice ripped her from her bitter thoughts, as he held out a hand once again to help her up. Finley stared at his hand before swallowing slightly, her eyes drifting to the ground in front of her as she grabbed his hand, immediately regretting her attempt to stand as her knee buckled underneath her and she fell sideways to the floor. "Is... something wrong?" Jack asked tentatively.

"Um... I can't really... walk without my crutches... not yet, anyway..." Finley mumbled, grabbing Jack's hand once again and resisting the urge to vomit as she leaned against him for support, feeling his bony body jutting out from underneath his pinstriped suit.

"No matter! I can help you. The newly deceased sometimes have trouble regaining their abilities," He said cheerily, one hand tightly gripping her shoulders as she began to limp towards the gate, her face growing red from embarrassment as she thought of her fall. Suddenly, a thought entered her head as the two slowly made their way out of the graveyard, causing her heart to sink in dread.

_If I'm dead, _Finley thought, feeling a wave of horror wash over her. _I shouldn't be able to blush. I shouldn't be breathing._

_My heart shouldn't be beating. And yet..._

_It is._

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><p><strong>Well, Finley's gone and met Jack, but there's something wrong. She's still alive! Oh no! Er... is that an "oh no" thing to think?<strong>

**I'm not very proud of this chapter, but introductions are often hard to write. You can't just make two characters say hello and throw them into the story with the snap of a finger. I promise the next chapter will be much more interesting, though.**

**REVIEWS:**

_Annomynous: Thank you so much! I was hoping that Finley would turn out to be interesting. She's very fun to write for. Don't worry, by the way - I've made it a personal pledge that for any fanfiction I write from this point forward will be finished, whether it takes two months or two years to do so. I won't give up! I hate it when people start something that sounds super cool, then completely drop it a day later. I'll admit, I've done it before, so I can understand it, but still - it really gets my goat. Anyway, thank you for reviewing!_

**See you in chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

Finley was not at all embarrassed to admit that Halloween Town was absolutely, undoubtedly, undeniably _terrifying._

From the first moment Jack had helped her limp into the main square, the scratched and bruised teen had screamed, jumped, and been reduced to a quivering ball in a corner more times than she could remember. Each citizen, from the strange gooey creature that lived in the garbage cans to the mad scientist that lived in a tower, was more frightening than the last. One meeting had actually caused Finley to faint - the awfully creepy Mayor had spun his head from a horrified, pale face to a normal one in front of her, and the teen could faintly remember the man asking Jack what sort of monster she was before darkness had overtaken her.

There were very few citizens that Finley could safely say she found... _tolerable. _Jack was one - though, the skeleton was hard_ not_ to warm up to, what with his constantly peppy attitude and cheery demeanor. Hell, even the man's walk looked sprightly. She did find that, while being inherently creepy, Jack was very kind and helpful with her first steps (literally) into becoming a part of the town. He even managed to procure a set of wooden crutches for the girl, which she had promptly snatched out of his hands and tested out on first sight.

Finley was grossly intrigued to find out that the skeleton actually had a real, legitimate _family _- a lovely girl with bright red hair named Sally, who was exceptionally sweet to her, even offering to let her stay in their guest bedroom - which the teen had accepted immediately. The couple had a single child, a small skeletal toddler named Xander who had gasped at the sight of Finley's leg when he first met her. "Your leg's weird!" He'd said in awe, trying to reach out and touch the prosthetic but failing as Sally had drawn him back, gently scolding him for being so insensitive. Finley had taken to the child instantly.

In all honesty, the legless teen had to confess that while everybody in Halloween Town was scary, they weren't serial-killer-level creepy. None of the citizens had outwardly appeared to her as violent or even murderous (though Finley did have her suspicions about the vampires) - in fact, they all just seemed to think that getting a good shriek out of people was extremely fun more than anything. Even to the infamous "Boogie's Boys," scaring was pure entertainment - it wasn't really malicious, or malevolent.

Finley thought it over as she watched Xander play with a gray toy xylophone that was horribly out of tune, the toddler tapping a small bone on the instrument to make an array of loud, unappealing noises. Sally had asked the auburn-haired teen to watch him as she cooked, fearing the boy would get into trouble if someone didn't watch him every minute of the day. _Hey, I can understand that, _Finley thought to herself. _Ragdoll or not, she's a first-time mom. It's natural to be worried, I guess._

The legless teen jerked out of her stupor with a yelp of surprise at the startling shriek of the Skellington's doorbell, earning herself a strange look from the tiny skeleton child. "You're a real 'fraidy-cat," Xander told her. Finley smiled wearily at the boy. _Even if you're a skeleton, I can still hang you upside down from the ankles. Watch it, kid. _

"I'll get it!" Sally called as the teen began to struggle to her feet, getting a grateful thank-you in reply. There was silence in the house for a moment, before Sally stepped into the den, looking uncertain. "Finley, there's someone at the door for you. Do you want t-" The redheaded ragdoll was cut off as a strange noise sounded out from the foyer, similar to that of glass when put on a hard surface.

"We heard-" A young girl's voice called out in a singsong manner.

"That there's-" A young boy's voice cut through the air.

"A newcomer!" The pair's voices mixed together as they scrambled into the den, crashing into each other and slipping on the rotting wooden floors. When they finally straightened up, looking rather haggard, they stared straight at Finley with awed expressions, their blood-red eyes curiously peeking out from underneath platinum-blonde hair as they took in the sight of the new resident.

"Oh my!" The girl cried breathlessly.

"She's not a monster!" The boy said, looking astonished.

"She's just dead!" They spoke in unison, their heads cocking to the side as they stared at the teen in wonder. Finley gaped right back at them, unsure whether to be amazed or terrified at the sight. The pair was deathly pale - their skin was shiny and white, and Finley noticed their hands and faces had tiny fissures looping over them. They were both short and skinny, the girl wearing a flowing white dress and the boy a white vest and shorts, and the teen noticed more prominent cracks in the pair's bare feet. The duo looked almost identical, as well as completely out of place.

"Finley..." Sally's quiet voice pierced through the silence, the unsteady ragdoll stepping forward and gesturing towards the twins. "These are some other new residents - well, when I say new, I mean they've been in the town for over a decade. Meet Luna and Kai, Halloween Town's Porcelain Twins."

There was a small clink as the twins stepped into place next to each other, giving Finley a ghostly smile as they interlocked their arms. "Nice to meet you, Finley!" They chimed together. "We heard you were new, and couldn't resist meeting you!" Luna and Kai stepped forward, each extending a cracked, pale hand for the teen to shake.

"Oh... um, hi." Finley gave a weak wave, before crossing one arm over the other and reaching out to shake the twins hands. "Do you... always do the alternating speech thing?"

"No," said Luna.

"We thought it sounded cool," Kai admitted.

At that, a small "pft" left Finley's lips as she tried her hardest not to laugh, a small grin growing on her face as she covered her mouth with her hand. The twins shared a sideways glance, unsure of what to make of the teen's reaction. After a few moments, Finley collapsed into full-fledged laughter, wiping tears from her face as she chuckled. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "Just, something about the way you said it made me crack up."

"Crack up?" Luna looked confused.

"We're cracked up, too!" Kai said excitedly, pushing back his low-hanging bangs and leaning in to show Finley multiple chipped, lined parts of his skin.

"No, I - nevermind," Finley sighed. "So, was that all you wanted, then? To... meet me, or whatever?" She questioned, her eyes darting back and forth from Xander to the twins, rather tired of playing with the small child.

"Well, at first," Luna said, a small, devious grin denting her cheeks. "But now you seem interesting."

"Come with us!" Kai cheered.

"Oh! Alright - I mean, if it's alright with you, Sally. Do you need help with Xander, or...?" Finley trailed off, peering over the twin's heads at the ragdoll.

"You don't have to ask me, Finley," Sally laughed quietly, coming over and hauling Xander onto her hip. "Of course you can go. I can hold down the fort here. Thank you for helping with the little one," She said gratefully before disappearing through the doorway to the kitchen.

"So, what're we gonna do...?" Finley asked, glancing up at the twins from her spot on the floor.

She received only a set of mischievous grins in reply.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry this chapter is so short! You're getting something super special in the next chapter, so don't worry. Good things will come.<strong>

**The reason why chapters have been coming out so quickly is because I've had a few typed out and finished, and it only takes a day for me to clean them up and proofread them before posting. All I have to do after that is write this little thingy down here. Yay me for being prepared.**

**Anyway, you've met Luna and Kai, the Porcelain Twins! How do you like them? Are they cute? Quirky? What do you think?**

**See you in chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Never let me go out with those two again..." Finley's feeble voice echoed through the halls of the Skellington household as she flopped onto a couch in the den, one arm holding onto her crutches while the other lay slung across her face.

The twins had forced Finley to go _everywhere_. The vampire's place. The potion shop run by the witches. That weird hill that reminded Finley of a pull-out bed, the way it curled out when you stepped on it a certain way. They had even gone to a strange, tiny place settled in a back alley that reeked of something unpleasant and had jars of questionable substances lining the dusty walls. Their adventure had stopped, however, when they had arrived at the city hall, where a very stern Jack and panicked Mayor had kicked them out only a moment after their entrance. "Killjoys," Kai had muttered as the rotting wooden doors slammed shut behind them.

"Dinner!" Finley groaned as she heard Sally call out from the kitchen._ If I move again, I'm pretty sure I'll become a pile of jelly_, she thought wearily. Still, the teen pushed herself off of the couch and joined the Skellingtons, the rumbling of her stomach overpowering the screaming of her muscles.

Slinking towards the dining room, Finley practically melted into a finely-crafted mahogany chair, her forehead making a loud thud on the table as it met with the cold, hard surface.

"Long day?" Jack asked, earning a muffled grunt in reply.

Feeling the table shake as different dishes were placed on it, Finley raised her head, leaning back in her chair and rubbing ferociously at her eyes. Blinking away the blurriness, she glanced over the miniature feast; pumpkin juice with different specks floating in it, rotting fruits, some sort of undefinable meat, and moldy bread. _Delicious,_ Finley thought sarcastically to herself as she fought back the urge to gag, picking up the pumpkin juice and hoping it would taste better than it looked.

_Huh. Spiced juice. Not too bad. _

Picking up a knife and fork, Finley's tongue poked out of the side of her mouth in concentration as she sawed at the strange meat on her place, eyeing it suspiciously before sticking it in her mouth and chewing slowly on it. The girl had to resist the urge to vomit as it slid about in her mouth, squishy and juicy - though, from sauce or decomposition, she couldn't tell. The teen became so focused on keeping down her dinner that she barely heard Sally's timid voice floating across the table.

"So, Finley... If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your leg?" The redhead asked, a note of caution in her voice. Finley froze, staring down at her fork with wide eyes. "That is, if you're willing to talk about it. It's okay if you don't, I was just curious." Sally finished hastily, noticing the girl's reaction.

_"Whoa-oa, oh-oh!" A loopy, drunken voice sang loudly along with the blaring radio, confident and out of tune. A hand adorned with chipped nail polish reached out and cranked up the volume, overpowering the loud squealing of the tires as the car wove in and out of traffic._

"U-uh, no, it's... um, it's fine," Finley mumbled, forcing herself to swallow another piece of meat as her mouth became dry, feeling Jack and Sally's eyes bore into her as she kept her eyes glued to her plate.

_"You're acting kind of weird..." A quiet voice drifted to the front seat, sounding uncertain._

_"No way! I'm fine!" The driver insisted as the car sped up, flying past another van as they barreled down the highway. Misty green eyes glanced down at the dashboard, not quite able to read the speed meter. "Hey, 's that say?" She slurred, as a boy's head appeared between the front seats, his eyes widening at the sight._

"I..." Finley was at a loss for words, struggling to come up with an answer as her thoughts raced around inside her head. _They can't know,_ she thought desperately. _Even if they are weird-ass monsters, they won't condone something like that._

"Finley...?" Jack sounded concerned as he stared at the girl, eye sockets widening in worry.

_"You're going ninety!" He shouted, reaching forward to turn down the music as the car swerved around a truck, an angry beep fading into the distance as they sped away._

_"No way, that says seventy!"_

_"Ninety!"_

_"Seve-!" The voice cut off as a panic-laced shriek ripped through the air, quickly followed by an agonized scream._

"..." Finley swallowed, before raising her head, giving Jack and Sally a reassuring smile. "Just a stupid accident, really." _Very stupid. Unbelievably stupid. The very definition of stupid._

"I think I should go to bed," The teen muttered. "It's been a really long day, and I'm awfully tired. Thank you for dinner." Finley stood up, holding onto her chair for support as she picked up her crutches, tucking one under each arm and swinging towards the guest room with a small smile on her face.

Only when the door clicked shut did she allow her face to crumple, her crutches flung to the floor as she collapsed on the bed, tucking her mouth into her moth-eaten sheets so as not to let any of the once-again jolly family outside hear her stifle a sob.

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><p><em>Now that's an ugly face if I've ever seen one, <em>Finley thought as she examined her reddened skin in the closet's hanging mirror, her eyes swollen and pink. _I need to stop doing that. Crying sucks. Stop being so sensitive, _she scolded herself.

Quickly picking up her pillow, Finley flipped it to the cool, unused side, pressing it against her face in an attempt to bring down the puffiness. After a few minutes she switched sides, going back and forth for as long as she felt necessary. Placing the pillow back at the headboard, Finley looked towards the mirror again.

"I look like shit now," she muttered, sighing loudly as she flopped back onto the bed unhappily, shutting her eyes and allowing herself a moment's rest.

"I agree," came a small voice from seemingly nowhere.

The teen's eyes shot open, her hair whipping around her as she sat up and looked frantically around the room, panic welling up in her chest. A quiet chuckle rang out in the still, tense air. "Over here," a lyrical voice called, as a line of black mist crept out from behind the crack of the closet door, taking the shape of a shadowy, dark arm as it grasped the doorknob.

"Who the hell...?" Finley yelped, snatching up a crutch from the floor and holding it as if it was a bat. A few strands of pitch-black hair fell to the side as a smoky figure glided out from the closet door, its head cocked at an odd angle. The figure was tall, adorned in a ripped red - or was it just covered in blood? - dress, torn strips of fabric waving gently as the person - _shadow?_ - moved.

"I'm nobody, not really," The figure chuckled, sharp white teeth poking out from underneath black lips. "Just the Creature In Your Closet. Not to be confused with that lug of a Monster Underneath Your Bed." Finley cautiously lowered her crutch, giving a suspicious look to the Monster as it swept towards her bed. "Name's Andromeda, by the way. Guess it was the wrong night to visit, eh?"

"...Kind of," Finley agreed, before her face darkened. "Wait a minute! That was rude as _hell!" _The teen swung her crutch, watching as it cut cleanly through Andromeda's waist before the shadows linked themselves back together. "You don't just nod and say yes if a girl says she looks shitty! 'I agree,'" She imitated in a low, comically sultry voice, before scowling. "The hell do you think you are?"

Andromeda gave the girl an incredulous look, opening her mouth to retort back but was cut off by a soft knock at the bedroom door. "Finley?" Sally's muffled voice broke through the wood. "Can I come in?"

The shadowy figure's head whipped to the side as she stared at the door for a moment, before leaning forward towards the girl's head. "I'm the one who you'll be thanking, human girl," the woman hissed into the teen's ear, before stepping back and bursting into a shroud of swirling gray smoke.

"Finley?" Sally called again, nearly going unheard as the girl stared in shock at the place where Andromeda had disappeared.

"..." Finley cleared her throat, lowering her crutch to the floor and placing a hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. "Y-yeah. Come in."

Sally peeked through the doorway, hesitantly stepping inside the room before closing the door behind her. The redheaded woman began to wring her stitch-covered hands as she looked to the teen. "I, um... I don't mean to pry, but really, are you alright?" She asked nervously, apprehensively taking an unsteady step forward. "I mean, you left so abruptly at dinner, I wasn't sure if I had upset you or not. I hope I didn't," the ragdoll said sincerely.

Finley gave the woman a weary smile. "I'm sorry if I worried you or Jack," she said. "I just kind of panicked when you asked. Nobody's really asked me that since it happened, so I guess I'm not used to it," the teen laughed quietly. "I really am sorry, though. I kind of made a scene without meaning to," she said truthfully.

There was a tense silence between the two girls for a moment, before a loud crash caught their attention. "Aw, Xander! No!" An exasperated cry from Jack echoed from somewhere in the house, causing the duo to share a quiet giggle.

"I suppose I should go take care of... whatever that was," Sally smiled, shaking her head and looking drained as she turned to leave the room. "No matter how long I leave those two alone, they still get into trouble," she laughed. "You'd think they'd be able to handle themselves for more than two minutes."

"Yeah," Finley nodded her assent, hearing her (temporary) bedroom door squeak as the ragdoll woman opened it, a thought popping into her head. "Oh, and, um, Sally?"

The redhead paused, her hand still resting on the doorknob. "Yes?"

"Thank you for letting me stay here, really. It means a lot." Finley said, biting her lip. "And, um...about my leg... it was a car accident, to answer your question."

Sally smiled slightly, nodding her head in thanks and scurrying off to deal with her husband and toddler.

_Even if everybody else in this town acts like they've come straight out of a Silent Hill game, at least Sally isn't so bad, _Finley thought, her thoughts drifting back towards Andromeda. _"I'm the one who you'll be thanking, human girl." How does she know?_

_And more importantly, what does that even mean?_

* * *

><p><strong>And the truth comes out! Finley lost her leg in a car accident. Also, Andromeda's got some dirt on Finley. Does this bode well? Does this bode badly? Is 'bode badly' even a term?<strong>

**In case anyone was confused about the whole dinner scene, when Sally asked Finley about her leg, the poor girl was thrown into a spin. There are some bad strings tied to that incident (alongside the whole she-lost-her-leg-thing,) and you'll find out what those are in time. I really hope I managed to capture the whole panicky, flash-backy sort of thing well. It's the first time I've really written that sort of reaction.**

**Also, you met the Creature In Your Closet! I wondered if the Monster Under Your Bed inhabited closets as well, because so many kids seem to be scared of them, and some things just fell into place. And so, Andromeda was introduced a bit earlier than I had planned. Oh well, it works out in the story's favor, I suppose.**

**Hope you enjoyed! **

**See you in chapter 5!**


	5. Chapter 5

_I would _gladly _give up my other leg just to get out of here. _

Finley groaned inwardly, slinking down in her seat and shoving her hands into her pockets. All around her, different ghosts and ghouls made a racket as they crowded into the pew-like seats at the Town Hall, creating a chaotic scene as each person tried to settle next to their family members or friends. The citizens of Halloween Town were there for one occasion - an open suggestion meeting for the upcoming Halloween celebrations. _Upcoming, _Finley scoffed, shutting her eyes and wishing for quiet. _It's literally November. Chill._

Feeling someone slide into the seats on either side of her, Finley opened her eyes, ready to snap at whoever was practically sitting on top of her. Instead, she smiled wearily, recognizing the unknown presence to be the Porcelain Twins. "Hi guys," She greeted them, closing her eyes once again and beginning to drift off.

"Well someone looks awfully tired!" Luna grinned, placing two cold, hard fingers on Finley's face and forcing her right eye open.

"Positively exhausted!" Kai laughed, doing the same with her left.

"Christ, guys, stop. I was up half the night," Finley mumbled, batting the twins' hands away.

"Doing what?" They chimed, leaning into the teen's face.

"I, ah... couldn't sleep," She lied, sitting up and pushing the pair's heads away. It wasn't entirely false - often Finley stayed awake with phantom pains. However, the previous night the girl had been up staring at her closet door for nearly four hours, willing Andromeda to come back. Multiple times she had crept towards the door herself, peeking inside and whispering "Hello...?" in hopes that she would receive a response. She had painstakingly done it multiple times in the days after Andromeda had dropped by - yet, she never seemed to locate the shadowy woman.

"Alright, everybody! Please, lend me your ears!" Finley stopped talking as Jack called out from the podium, turning her head and staring tiredly up at the stage. "It's time to start making suggestions! Now, if we could do this in a calm, orderly fashion, that would be magnificent. If you'd like to make a suggestion, feel free to raise a hand." The skeleton finished, smiling widely at the crowd, folding his hands in front of him and waiting patiently.

The hall erupted.

"Let's have bats! Bats!"

"Can we get Sandy Claws to do something?"

"Let's bring back the screaming choir from last year!" Dozens of voices screamed at once, hands - and spittle - flying into the air as everybody tried to be heard at once. The Corpse Kid lost his balance and began to roll down the aisle, pulling his mother behind him. The Hangmen were shakily swinging on their branches, their bones clattering in excitement. Lock, Shock, and Barrel jumped up and down, zipping between pews and shrieking out ideas. Finley almost felt bad for poor Jack, who was trying desperately to calm the storm and be heard above the chaos.

Even Luna and Kai were screeching at the top of their lungs, their childish, high-pitched voices piercing through the air. Finley could barely hear a word they said, but managed to catch scrambled bits and pieces of speech as they added to the pandemonium.

"-By the ankles, dripping blood! That'd be a real sight to see-"

"-Jack makes his appearance, then we take a human and throw 'em in the fountain-"

"-Make them drown in their own blood, really simple-"

The teen felt a ghostly chill run through her as she listened to the twins, horrified at the acts they detailed._ What...? I thought Halloween was supposed to be about scaring people, not straight-up Aztec-era sacrifice,_ she thought, leaning forward in her seat to distance herself from the pair._ Leave it to me to befriend the freaking serial killers. _

"Enough!" Jack's shout tore through the throng, halting the chaos for only a moment before the hall descended into madness once again. Finley saw the skeleton sigh and turn, raising his hands to his face...

...And promptly letting out a roaring banshee scream.

"Holy Christ!" Finley shrieked, clutching Kai's arm and shutting her eyes, pushing herself against the child and shaking in fear. All eyes were on her as she tightly gripped the boy's arm, shuddering terribly. Laughter started to rise up from all sides as realization began to set in.

"Oh, she's never heard Jack scream before!" One voice cried.

"Too much for you, nonhuman?" Another chortled.

Even Luna was giggling beside her, wiping cloudy tears from her cracked, pale cheeks. Humiliation boiled in Finley's stomach as she gritted her teeth. Feeling hot tears prick the corners of her eyes and burning rage scorch her stomach, Finley slowly unwound herself from Kai and stood, her head down, face shielded by a wavy sheet of auburn locks.

"Three words," she said loudly as the laughter died out. "Fuck you all." Raising her hands and flashing each side of the room an upright middle finger, the teen snatched up her crutches and swung herself towards the doors of the hall, wanting more than ever to simply go home.

* * *

><p>"Had a rough go of it, eh?"<p>

A sly, delighted voice crept towards where Finley lay in bed, her face pushed into the slowly-molding pillow, a moth eaten blanket pulled around her.

"You really know when to show up, don't you?" The teen grumbled, lifting her head from her pillow and sending a glare towards the shadowy figure gliding towards her. Andromeda's tattered dress swung slightly at her feet as she moved, perching herself on the headboard and smirking down at Finley.

"I do know when the time is right," she flashed the girl a devilish grin. "You strike when emotions are high. A tense atmosphere makes for a good scare."

"I'll show you a damn tense atmosphere," Finley muttered.

"Don't be saucy."

"Screw off."

Andromeda shrugged, thick, black smoke rolling from her shoulders in waves. "If you say so," she said, standing up once again and drifting towards the closet once again. Suddenly, a thought struck Finley as she watched the closet-creature leave, causing her to scramble desperately out of bed and reach for the figure's arm.

"Wait!" The teen pleaded as her hand slipped straight through the cold smoke of Andromeda's limb. "The other night... what, like, a week ago? You said you'd be the one to help me. And," Finley lowered her voice, dropping to a barely inaudible whisper. "You know that I'm human. What's that about? How...?" She trailed off, tensing up as Andromeda turned her head, a strange grin playing on her face.

"Well, you're quite obvious. It's a wonder that fool of a skeleton and his wife haven't found you out yet. Even that bloody Doctor didn't suspect you of anything, and he's smart as a whip." Andromeda had a glint of excitement in her eyes as she swept over to the small vanity settled against the wall, tossing multiple small items that Sally had given Finley as gifts - eyeliners, blood-red lipsticks - out of the way and sitting down in the space she'd cleared.

"I was here the first night you came here," Andromeda said, to Finley's shock and - ever so slight - horror. "Whenever someone new comes to town, I like to give them a nice greeting, you know? A thud here, a shriek there, the usual. Get them used to the town. But you... You looked lost. And as you turned around that first night, I noticed something right here," the creature tapped the back of her head. "Blood, dripping down your scalp. An open wound. Now, that's not too unusual for the newly deceased in this town, but I was curious, and as I watched you, I noticed that you were different, somehow. I couldn't put my finger on it. For a few days I stopped by, and I didn't notice anything special, and I reckoned that I'd been wasting my time on a stupid vibe. But then..."

Andromeda tapped her cheek, her finger poking through the smoke and leaving a hole, which quickly re-sealed itself. "I realized that your bruises had faded, and your cuts had scabbed over. From all the time I watched you, you hadn't touched any of the makeup that ragdoll had given you, not even once." Andromeda gestured to the tubes and vials littering the floor. "The only natural assumption was that you were still alive."

"Okay... makes sense, I guess." Finley said slowly. "But you said you'd be the one to help me...? What do you mean?"

"I mean that I can help you like nobody else in this godforsaken town can," Andromeda's voice warped as she spoke, her voice rising higher and lower in various pitches until she came to a certain tone. Her smoky skin solidified, whitening until it became a pale ivory, and her hair shrank back inside her head until it was slightly wavy and unkempt, falling to her shoulders in a sheet of auburn. Her eyes became a sharp green, and her leg transformed itself into a prosthetic, her clothes reforming into a knee-length black dress. The woman shrank down to Finley's height and finally stood, holding out her arms, a thrilled grin on her face. "I can help you leave but never go."

"What the hell..." Finley breathed, staring at - well, herself, with wide eyes. Andromeda had become her mirror image, in body and voice. Even her hair was ruffled in exactly the same way. "What is this... Andromeda-?" She asked, slowly backing away.

"Sometimes monsters can be hybrids. Anyway - here's the deal," Andromeda sped towards her, leaning over her with her hands on her hips. "I'll show you the way back to the human world, while I stay here looking and acting exactly. Like. You." She poked Finley's forehead with the last three words. "In return, you'll allow me to do whatever I want as you. No matter if it's singing in the shower or throwing a tantrum in the street, I get free reign. You won't come back here, and if you do, the deal's off and you'll have to be the new Creature In The Closet. Am I clear? Do we have a deal?" She said quickly, staring straight into Finley's eyes and sticking out a hand.

"I..." Finley hesitated and averted her gaze, before the words of the jeering citizens crashed into her once again._ "Too much for you, nonhuman?"_ rang in her head like a bell. A small flare of anger sparked in her gut, and Finley briefly glanced down at Andromeda's hand.

"We have a deal," the teen said firmly, reaching out and gripping the woman's palm tightly.

Andromeda grinned and snapped her fingers, as Finley felt a burning sensation on her side. Swearing loudly, she gritted her teeth and bent over, sweat beginning to pour from her in buckets. "What the hell is this?" She snapped, tightly gripping her ribs.

"Oh, just a little something to seal the deal. Now, quickly, I hear someone coming," the new Finley said harshly, yanking the teen's crutches from her hands and pushing her towards a window. "Go through the window and travel straight over Spiral Hill. Once you see a small, hollowed-out tree stump, take a left, and keep moving. You'll find the Holiday Circle from there - go through the pumpkin door, and you'll find yourself back home. Whatever happens next is up to you. Goodbye." With a hard shove, the fake teen pushed the real one through the window, quickly closing it and drawing the curtains.

Finley stared at the covered window in confusion for only a moment, before turning and limping as fast as she could towards the Holiday Circle, only one joyous thought in her mind.

_Home._

* * *

><p><strong>OH SNAP, SON. SHE'S A SHAPESHIFTER.<strong>

**Andromeda is so snarky and yet, she's real firm as well. I love writing her. **

**Also, the twins are serial-killer-level of crazy and Finley's pissed and going home! How will she get through the woods without faceplanting into the dirt? What'll her family say when she gets back? Will she ever be able to bEAT THE EVERLOVING S*** OUT OF MASON-**

**(_"You can't go around saying things like that..."_ SHUT IT, EDITOR-INSIDE-MY-HEAD. MASON'S A SCUMBAG. FINLEY NEEDS TO BEAT HIM TO DEATH WITH HER FAKE LEG OR SOMETHING.)**

**Ahem. Apologies.**

**Now, REVIEW TIME:**

**Annomynous: Thank you so much for reviewing! It really makes me happy that someone's religiously checking my story. I guess I'm not as bad as an author as I thought... anyway, I'm so glad that you love Luna, Kai, and Andromeda. It's also really nice to know that the flashback was chaotic - that's exactly what I was aiming for, and I'm happy I was able to deliver! **

**Anyway, see you in chapter six!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Y'know, there's something that's special about food that _hasn't _decomposed yet. _

A small, contented sigh left Finley's lips as she stuck another piece of chicken in her mouth, feeling the spicy meat set her mouth on fire. _Much better than that petrified dog crap Sally made, _she began to think, before shaking her head and setting her lips in a firm line. _No. Don't think about that. _

It had been well over a week since Finley had gotten home, and - not to her surprise - her family had been in absolute panic mode when she arrived. The minute she had walked through the front door of her house, the lights had immediately flipped on and her mother had fled down the stairs, phone in one hand and a bat in the other. The older Kennett woman had stopped, stared at Finley for a moment, then burst into tears and dropped everything in order to throw her arms around the teen's torso.

And then, the questions started.

"Where were you?"

"What happened?"

"Why didn't you call?"

Question after question bombarded the teen as she maneuvered between her mother - and father, who had come downstairs upon hearing his wife's commotion - to take a seat at her kitchen table. Frantically she scrambled to create an alibi for herself, under the impression that her parents wouldn't take too kindly to the idea of a place called "Halloween Town." Where had she been? What had really happened? Nothing the legless girl could think of would work.

"I... went on a road trip," she had finally said, biting her lip and hoping that her parents would believe it. The story had escalated from there, turning into a scathing tale of mistaken memories. "You guys knew! I went with, um, Laura from school and a couple of others! I told you about it _weeks _ago!" She'd accused, earning a long-winded, angry rant from her mother and father. After hours of being closely scrutinized, the girl had finally been allowed to go to bed, and started to become acquainted with the real world once again.

At least, she tried to.

Her parents didn't let her go _anywhere. _Friends were off-limits for the time being. It was a struggle for Finley to even relax in her own backyard - the minute she stepped through the sliding glass doors in her kitchen, her father had practically flown downstairs, demanding to know where she was going and what she intended to do when she got there. It didn't help Finley's case that she still had scratches and bruises and a humongous, scabbed-over gash on the back of her head, and because of it, her parents had threatened to go to the police - multiple times. Being home was a nightmare she hadn't anticipated, and in all honesty, Finley was starting to regret coming back in the first place.

_Don't say that. You're back home, it's a little tight, but it's great. There's no weird-ass monsters in your closet and you don't have to listen to the twins detail just how much they'd like to slice open some humans. It's great, _she kept telling herself. And yet, somehow... she almost missed the dark, quirky autumn days she'd spent in Halloween Town.

Almost.

The teen suspected that if things had returned to normal when she'd arrived home, she would have been a lot happier. If Finley had just come home, no questions asked, and settled back in, it would have been fine. And yet, she felt as if she was in prison. Her parents monitored her day and night. She was barely allowed to set foot outside of her room. School was the only place outside of home that she could go, and it was worse than ever. Nothing felt right, and Finley was beginning to feel a touch of remorse for leaving the town so eagerly.

_Well, like it or not, you're stuck here. And besides... you're fooling yourself if you thought anything was right in the first place._

* * *

><p><em>Oh, this is brilliant. This is amazing. This was the easiest catch on earth.<em>

A large grin grew on Andromeda's heavily concealed face as she watched the human child stumble into the darkened woods, chuckling as she tripped over a tree root. Tossing the curtains back over her bedroom window, she stepped over to the vanity mirror and fixed her messy auburn hair with a wave of her hand, making it a touch shinier and fuller. Examining her face in the mirror, Andromeda frowned, turning her head from side to side and scrutinizing the pale-skinned visage she had taken on.

_Wow, this girl really didn't care much for her looks, did she? _The shapeshifter mused, tapping her fingers over her cheeks and thinning out her face a tad. Quickly she moved her palm over her eyes, lengthening her lashes, and shaping her eyebrows to her liking. _Hm... _she wondered, stepping back and examining her teenage body, frowning at the lack of curves. _She was a sight that sore eyes should never see. Let's fix that. _

Tracing her hips, the woman-turned-teenager made very slight changes - enough so that she would be happy, but not enough that they would be noticed immediately. Fuller hips. A thinner waist. The shapeshifting demon even went so far as to give herself a larger chest, laughing quietly as she did so. _I'm going to be a better Finley than the original ever was, _she thought gleefully, dropping her hands and spinning on her heels, checking out the full extent of her new disguise. _Perfect. _

_Now, let's go have some fun. _

* * *

><p>"What the <em>hell?" <em>Finley's bellow echoed throughout the entirety of the house, even catching the attention of a few passersby outside.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, about two weeks after she'd arrived home, and while Finley had been bored and unmotivated, she'd mused over her last moments with Andromeda - and with a start, she realized she'd never checked her side for whatever sensation had been set on by the shapeshifter to "seal the deal" and had immediately run to her bathroom to check. And to her outright surprise, once she had pulled up her shirt, popping out at her from her ribcage...

...was a large, ugly, coal-colored pentagram, marring her skin.

"Oh my _god..._" Finley breathed, reaching down and tracing a finger over the blackened skin. The girl hissed as the mark smarted at her touch, a burning pain stinging her from what felt like the inside as her skin slowly grew red. _Is this for real? _Finley felt as if she was in a whirlwind as she drew her hand away from the bold mark, staring down at it in horror. _Why in the hell would she put that there? And out of all the damn scars she could give me, she had to chose _that _one? _

_...Well, I can't wear bikinis now. _The teen laughed slightly at the thought, before all feelings of hilarity vanished and she was once again left to wonder about the odd scar on her side. _This paranormal shit only happens in folklore, right? Random little stories from the teen-hundreds trying to force people towards the church? It's like, oh, be a good girl and don't make random deals with strangers, they could be a demon out for your soul..._

_Unless... Andromeda..._

"Oh, fuck," Finley said aloud, dropping her shirt and bolting from the room.

* * *

><p>The town was abuzz with excitement once again as the citizens crowded into the Town Hall, monsters and ghouls clambering over each other to find a seat in the typical pandemonium. Jack had called another meeting, after the failure of the last suggestion forum due to the scene that their resident teen ghoul had caused. This meeting was different, however - three of the town's younger residents had slipped under the radar, standing just outside the Town Hall's molding wooden doors and listening to the commotion inside.<p>

"Are you guys ready?" Andromeda whispered, crouching and peeking into the Hall with a glint of mischief in her eye. "You know the plan, right?"

"Yup!" Luna chirped next to her, grinning excitedly. "I'll go in and give the place a Frog Bomb-" the porcelain child gestured to the bottle of Frog's Breath in her hands, filled to the brim and ready to be broken open.

" - and I'll set off these firecrackers!" Kai produced some crackers from his pocket, waving them in front of his two friends and laughing enthusiastically.

"While I score the jackpot," Andromeda finished, smiling widely at the twins before peeking into the Hall once again. "Okay, it looks like they've just about settled down. Go, now!" She whispered forcefully, lightly nudging the two dolls forward as she ducked out of the way. Pressing herself to the side of the building, the shapeshifter waited until she heard popping and coughing from inside before pressing a mask over her face (one could never be too careful when dealing with Frog's Breath) and charging inside.

Slipping past the frantic citizens, the disguised teen zipped between different creatures until she came to the foot of the podium. Quickly glancing backwards, she made sure each and every monster was in a frenzied panic before sneaking onstage and pushing through a side door. With a twist, a turn, and a flight of stairs, Andromeda finally reached the door to the Mayor's office, quickly picking the lock with a wire and stepping inside, rifling through different desk drawers and file cabinets until she found what she was looking for.

A wicked grin came across the shapeshifter's face as she lifted the thick scrolls of parchment from the desk, tucking them into a bag at her side and quickly fleeing the scene, breaking open a window and escaping onto the roof of the Town Hall before lowering herself to the dead grass below. Her fake leg clattered and creaked as Andromeda flew past a row of shops and the Mayor's car, running towards the woods where she knew she would have sufficient cover to do what she liked.

Finally coming to a clearing far from the town, Andromeda allowed herself to rest, propping herself up against a fallen tree and pulling the parchment from her bag. A suppressed giggle of excitement escaped her lips as she unrolled the scrolls, greedily taking in the diagrams and paragraphs on the paper. "I really nicked something good, eh?" She laughed to herself, putting down one scroll and picking up another.

And she wasn't lying; she truly had stolen something of value. Atop the first scroll, amid the diagrams and sketches, was the official report on how Oogie Boogie had been brought back to life all those years ago. A large, delighted smirk grew on Andromeda's face as she began to read, soaking in the information with ease. "Might as well be a how-to guide!" She cackled to herself. "Oh, I can use these. I can _definitely _use_ these._"

* * *

><p><strong>*crawls out from under a rock* H-hello? Guys? Have you given up on me yet? H...ello?<br>**

**Real sorry that this chapter's kind of short and kind of nothing. I've been really sick lately (hospital visits and long-term at-home intravenous medicine, hooray!) and I'm just getting back into the writing groove. Please don't hate me.**

**REVIEWS:**

**Sol: _A new reviewer! Yay! I'm glad you find Finley relatable and that I was able to give you a laugh. It's nice to know the comedy I've been trying to slip into the story hasn't gone unnoticed! _**

**_Annonymous: Hi again! I'm glad you liked the newer chapters. I've really been trying with this story (though I don't know if it shows) and I hope you'll continue to love it!_**

**_Artistgirl16: Another new reviewer? Nice to meet you! I'm glad you liked my story!_**

**So, Finley's figured out a ghastly bit of information, and Andromeda's set to work on her rampage, with the help of Kai and Luna (who think it all in good fun.) What will Finley do? How will Andromeda use her newfound tool? Find out in chapter 7!**


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